Drought Risk in Georgia

All Georgia counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index drought score

Drought risk — extended dry periods that stress water supplies and agriculture — is rated for 145 of 159 Georgia counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Gordon County carries the state's highest drought score at 98.7, with $7M in expected annual drought losses.

4 Georgia counties are rated High or Very High for drought, and expected annual losses from drought total roughly $55M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Drought

#CountyDrought ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Gordon County
98.7
High 31.14 / yr $7M
2 Sumter County
95.5
High 54.45 / yr $2M
3 Macon County
92.0
High 46.80 / yr $1M
4 Quitman County
91.4
High 52.10 / yr $1M
5 Dooly County
90.6
Medium 50.12 / yr $2M
6 Tattnall County
89.4
Medium 22.65 / yr $1M
7 Crisp County
88.9
Medium 33.29 / yr $998K
8 Peach County
88.9
Medium 42.22 / yr $1M
9 Worth County
88.8
Medium 30.30 / yr $1M
10 Jefferson County
87.8
Medium 50.17 / yr $1M
11 Washington County
87.4
Medium 50.96 / yr $1M
12 Randolph County
87.0
Medium 48.88 / yr $900K
13 Calhoun County
86.6
Medium 45.26 / yr $810K
14 Laurens County
84.6
Medium 37.52 / yr $1M
15 Terrell County
84.4
Medium 51.91 / yr $878K
16 Putnam County
83.6
Medium 56.53 / yr $800K
17 Bulloch County
83.3
Medium 25.43 / yr $1M
18 Pulaski County
82.6
Medium 46.67 / yr $721K
19 Polk County
81.9
Medium 31.06 / yr $665K
20 Webster County
81.5
Medium 56.57 / yr $696K
21 Coffee County
80.7
Medium 23.85 / yr $702K
22 Burke County
80.6
Medium 40.08 / yr $764K
23 Screven County
80.4
Medium 29.48 / yr $652K
24 Wilcox County
80.2
Medium 28.69 / yr $714K
25 Johnson County
79.7
Medium 43.42 / yr $567K
26 Taylor County
78.7
Medium 55.67 / yr $505K
27 Mitchell County
78.2
Medium 37.48 / yr $559K
28 Bleckley County
78.0
Medium 44.05 / yr $631K
29 Dodge County
77.7
Medium 30.89 / yr $567K
30 Toombs County
77.4
Medium 21.25 / yr $643K
31 Early County
77.2
Medium 44.29 / yr $480K
32 Emanuel County
76.7
Medium 29.83 / yr $549K
33 Appling County
76.0
Medium 21.71 / yr $563K
34 Clay County
76.0
Medium 46.00 / yr $405K
35 Colquitt County
75.2
Medium 29.23 / yr $483K
36 Decatur County
73.8
Medium 31.61 / yr $416K
37 Baldwin County
73.3
Medium 47.32 / yr $535K
38 Twiggs County
71.4
Medium 46.85 / yr $358K
39 Marion County
71.2
Medium 58.53 / yr $355K
40 Dougherty County
71.0
Medium 38.87 / yr $406K
41 Floyd County
69.1
Medium 31.36 / yr $425K
42 Jeff Davis County
69.1
Medium 22.90 / yr $343K
43 Baker County
69.0
Medium 47.54 / yr $300K
44 Walker County
68.7
Medium 29.17 / yr $474K
45 Turner County
68.3
Medium 28.89 / yr $316K
46 Crawford County
68.1
Medium 51.00 / yr $549K
47 Lee County
67.5
Medium 43.72 / yr $574K
48 Houston County
67.4
Medium 39.93 / yr $509K
49 Tift County
67.4
Medium 24.69 / yr $388K
50 Jenkins County
67.1
Medium 34.80 / yr $336K
51 Miller County
64.9
Medium 37.14 / yr $283K
52 Wilkes County
64.3
Medium 61.72 / yr $259K
53 Bacon County
64.2
Medium 22.38 / yr $281K
54 Meriwether County
64.2
Medium 52.63 / yr $255K
55 Chattooga County
63.7
Low 33.08 / yr $250K
56 Hart County
63.7
Low 43.05 / yr $296K
57 Evans County
63.5
Low 24.06 / yr $256K
58 Montgomery County
63.3
Low 22.53 / yr $253K
59 Wilkinson County
63.1
Low 48.78 / yr $318K
60 Oglethorpe County
62.9
Low 57.13 / yr $338K
61 Irwin County
62.3
Low 25.12 / yr $324K
62 Gilmer County
62.2
Low 37.69 / yr $230K
63 Ben Hill County
61.5
Low 25.12 / yr $191K
64 Hancock County
60.5
Low 58.79 / yr $163K
65 Grady County
60.4
Low 32.00 / yr $221K
66 Berrien County
60.0
Low 25.81 / yr $197K
67 Candler County
59.7
Low 26.21 / yr $228K
68 Fannin County
59.4
Low 35.44 / yr $207K
69 Jackson County
59.1
Low 40.71 / yr $387K
70 Seminole County
58.2
Low 31.89 / yr $232K
71 Morgan County
57.2
Low 58.04 / yr $267K
72 Atkinson County
56.4
Low 23.19 / yr $205K
73 Union County
56.2
Low 35.74 / yr $149K
74 Stewart County
56.2
Low 59.46 / yr $119K
75 Gwinnett County
56.0
Low 33.34 / yr $249K
76 Cook County
55.8
Low 23.80 / yr $168K
77 Brooks County
55.6
Low 23.00 / yr $137K
78 Telfair County
54.9
Low 22.54 / yr $130K
79 Elbert County
54.8
Low 56.02 / yr $141K
80 Banks County
54.8
Low 40.90 / yr $226K
81 Madison County
54.4
Low 46.54 / yr $166K
82 Oconee County
54.4
Low 49.18 / yr $343K
83 Butts County
53.9
Low 57.56 / yr $158K
84 Thomas County
53.8
Low 25.92 / yr $152K
85 Heard County
53.5
Low 50.28 / yr $118K
86 Jasper County
53.3
Low 59.60 / yr $159K
87 Haralson County
53.2
Low 31.05 / yr $153K
88 Greene County
53.0
Low 57.73 / yr $135K
89 Bartow County
52.9
Low 30.57 / yr $234K
90 Lamar County
52.2
Low 52.20 / yr $158K
91 Treutlen County
52.1
Low 28.82 / yr $163K
92 McDuffie County
52.0
Low 50.06 / yr $123K
93 Upson County
51.6
Low 51.63 / yr $148K
94 Walton County
51.5
Low 45.35 / yr $188K
95 Monroe County
51.3
Low 55.64 / yr $155K
96 Pike County
51.2
Low 51.90 / yr $139K
97 Catoosa County
51.0
Low 25.89 / yr $175K
98 Clinch County
50.9
Low 27.08 / yr $95K
99 Harris County
50.5
Low 48.06 / yr $170K
100 Pierce County
50.2
Low 20.45 / yr $161K
101 Lumpkin County
50.1
Low 38.23 / yr $135K
102 Henry County
49.0
Low 42.90 / yr $170K
103 Spalding County
48.6
Low 49.99 / yr $141K
104 Ware County
48.0
Low 26.10 / yr $96K
105 Warren County
47.5
Low 62.68 / yr $73K
106 Glascock County
47.1
Low 53.76 / yr $96K
107 Lowndes County
46.9
Low 15.17 / yr $113K
108 Coweta County
46.4
Low 46.27 / yr $145K
109 Jones County
46.3
Low 52.16 / yr $102K
110 Wheeler County
46.0
Low 27.04 / yr $67K
111 Dade County
45.5
Low 30.32 / yr $82K
112 Effingham County
45.4
Low 24.34 / yr $124K
113 Schley County
45.2
Low 51.51 / yr $136K
114 Clarke County
44.8
Low 42.10 / yr $110K
115 Newton County
44.5
Low 43.79 / yr $136K
116 Bibb County
43.0
Low 42.92 / yr $74K
117 Fayette County
42.9
Low 43.57 / yr $126K
118 Murray County
42.2
Low 30.17 / yr $80K
119 Wayne County
42.1
Low 21.49 / yr $64K
120 White County
41.8
Low 38.03 / yr $77K
121 Talbot County
41.7
Low 51.78 / yr $44K
122 Lanier County
41.5
Low 18.93 / yr $67K
123 Franklin County
41.3
Low 42.77 / yr $58K
124 Towns County
41.0
Low 33.41 / yr $46K
125 Hall County
40.6
Low 36.90 / yr $76K
126 Brantley County
39.5
Low 23.17 / yr $64K
127 Dawson County
39.4
Low 37.52 / yr $75K
128 Chatham County
37.8
Low 18.34 / yr $54K
129 Pickens County
37.7
Low 36.65 / yr $55K
130 Whitfield County
36.8
Low 27.45 / yr $42K
131 Paulding County
36.8
Low 36.92 / yr $68K
132 Habersham County
34.8
Low 40.01 / yr $39K
133 Rabun County
33.6
Low 35.82 / yr $25K
134 Richmond County
32.1
Low 41.09 / yr $27K
135 Echols County
29.5
Very Low 23.13 / yr $31K
136 Taliaferro County
27.4
Very Low 70.11 / yr $10K
137 Columbia County
27.0
Very Low 48.19 / yr $23K
138 Muscogee County
26.0
Very Low 45.56 / yr $13K
139 Stephens County
22.9
Very Low 40.74 / yr $6K
140 Chattahoochee County
22.4
Very Low 53.79 / yr $9K
141 Bryan County
20.7
Very Low 22.40 / yr $6K
142 Charlton County
19.5
Very Low 26.00 / yr $2K
143 Long County
17.4
Very Low 21.23 / yr $3K
144 Liberty County
15.5
Very Low 21.64 / yr $1K
145 Glynn County
14.6
Very Low 21.86 / yr $369

145 Georgia counties with measurable drought risk. See the national drought ranking or all Georgia counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Georgia county has the highest drought risk?

Gordon County has the highest FEMA drought risk score in Georgia at 98.7 (High), with $7M in expected annual losses and about 31.14 events per year.

How many Georgia counties face significant drought risk?

145 Georgia counties record measurable drought risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 4 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Georgia

Coastal Flood Cold Wave Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather